


for your tears are pearls (that could pay any debt)

by cowboysapnap



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: A lot of Minecraft lore that I made in my meta documents, Absolutely no shipping - Freeform, Angst, Big Brother Technoblade, Don't be afraid of the major character death, Ew, Found Family, Gen, Ghast Tommyinnit, Heavy Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Issues, Interrogation, It depends on my mood, Kidnapping, Maybe - Freeform, Minx is in this too I dont care I love her too much, Mob Hybrids, No Perma-death, No Smut, Not a lot of crying, OOC characters, Oh, Political Intrigue, Resolving Conflict, Royalty, Running Away, The Nether (Minecraft), They come back!, They cry, They/Them pronouns and He/Him pronouns for Toby Smith, Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit Friendship, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit-centric, Violence, War, When They Cry, a little bit as a treat, but - Freeform, chosen family, hehe :), i don't know what to tag anymore, kind of, sometimes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:36:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27166696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowboysapnap/pseuds/cowboysapnap
Summary: "Water was the anti-thesis to every moment of his past, to all the parts of himself. He thought the color would mask the red of his eyes nicely."--Tommy (or is it Thomas?-) was incredibly experienced in running away from his problems. Never would he had thought that it was time to run back to a different set to escape the ones he was currently facing. With no support and no safe haven, Tommy knew what he had to do. He only wished that it wouldn't hurt him too badly.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Dave | Technoblade & TommyInnit, Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Jschlatt & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Comments: 160
Kudos: 386





	for your tears are pearls (that could pay any debt)

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Little Blaze, Come Home.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26962177) by [Fateweaver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fateweaver/pseuds/Fateweaver). 



> Keep in mind that this is completely platonic! There will be no shipping, but a lot of found family aspects. Thank you so much for respecting the creators, and if they ever explicitly say that they are uncomfortable with all types of fanfic, I'll be taking this down. This work was inspired by Little Blaze, Come Home. by Fateweaver, and you should all read their work because it's wonderful!
> 
> Most chapter titles will be lyrics, and I'd love for you all to guess the songs they came from in the comments!

When Thomas first came up, he had been desperate. No, Thomas would not cry, but the pain and burns of his homelands were raw and aching. He spent a few months running as far as he could from that original portal, through forests of birch and dark oak, until his legs were like lead and his lungs stuttered every time he tried to take a breath. He collapsed into a small bank of sand and crawled ( _ when was the last time he had needed to crawl-)  _ toward the water. 

Water was the antithesis to every moment of his past, to all the parts of himself. He thought the color would mask the red of his eyes nicely. 

Later, once Tommy had chosen a new name, made his hair straw blonde, and gained his first sense of love, he would look back at the water and thank it silently. No longer was water his antithesis, and he would love it for that for the rest of his life. 

But love did not make things last, and Tommy would learn that lesson all too soon. Love for his friends, love for his brother, love for the nation he helped build, all of this would not protect it from war and betrayal. Tommy would not cry, but he would feel pain. 

“Tommy, we have to split up, or they’ll kill us. Tommy, be safe. Please be safe.” Frantic, yelled across a clearing as arrows whizzed by and armor made sickening noises. Tommy had to leave, but where could Tommy go? His brother in arms was hunted as well, all of his friends betraying him,  _ Tubbo  _ wasn’t even on his side. 

Tommy knew. Tommy knew what he had to do, and so Tommy ran. And as Tommy ran, he shed the blond glamour, let his eyes shine red, let his feet pound the ground as he fled back to his original portal. Tommy let ‘Tommy’ go, and became Thomas once more. 

Now panting and exhausted, Thomas would stand before the portal that had once been his gateway to freedom. Now, this portal was his one chance at safety. 

At this, Thomas would cry. A single tear rolling down his cheek, becoming a dripping pearl, one that could bring you back from death’s brink, one that could save you even from the most grievous of deaths, and Thomas would descend. 

The Nether was not a hospitable place to humans. When Tommy and Tubbo had traversed it together before, Tubbo had coughed and sweat and their spoils never seemed worth the pain it put his friend through. But Thomas was not like his friends. 

Thomas found himself back in the Nether, with hair glowing white from the lava’s light and eyes shining red. Thomas felt his back straighten, felt his veins surging with heat and power, and let himself smile. An ugly snarling thing, but what was more befitting him? 

Thomas had spawned in the mountain ring of his home, the natural defenses of the Capital he had been raised in. He began the trek down from the peaks and towards the city center. Someone had to announce that their prince had returned.

Through towering city gates of black stone and obsidian, Thomas walked purposefully. He walked down avenues, caught glimpses of squares he had played in, softened his eyes at the familiar shops and stands he had enjoyed as a child. He made no move to stop though, kept his eyes on the gleaming palace that was his destination. 

With purposeful strides, Thomas marched toward the doors of the castle and pushed them open himself. The main hall had been filled with the court, all of them startled as the entryway opened, especially at the boy with shocking white hair and piercing red eyes. Thomas continued his promenade towards the throne, every step like he was dragging his feet through mud. With every step, he could feel that freedom he had craved so desperately slip away, and the invisible noose of other’s expectations tighten. 

As he reached the high throne of the Nether, he turned to look at his court. When he sat, the decorative torches and banners burst into flames. The throne was glad to have its ruler’s return. 

\--

“Have you heard? The prince is back!” Whispers traveled through the crowds of the Capital, reaching out towards the edges of the Kingdom, finding each and every citizen. For one of these citizens, the announcement was much more meaningful.

The great general Technoblade had not always been the leader of the Nether Army, for, at one time, he had been the guard to a young ghast boy, one who had been thrust into a world of expectations and suffering at a young age, with a crown upon his head and no support. 

General Technoblade had seen this boy grow up under such pressure and had mourned him when he disappeared. He had yearned for the times he had just been ‘Techno’, when he had given piggyback rides and been a big brother. So, when this news reached him, he dropped everything.

He left his army and traveled to the Capital, threw open the doors of the castle, and rushed to the throne room. 

  
There sitting quietly and alone,  _ was his boy _ . Taller than the one that had disappeared all those years ago, older too. He was now lanky and thin, his face jutting and carved like a young man, no more were the ruddy cheeks of his youth. Still, though, this was his boy. 

Technoblade abandoned propriety. He ran to the boy, who had stood and now was running as well, and threw his arms around him when they met. They crumpled to the floor, Techno cradling his younger brother's head in his arms, folding him into his embrace. Prince Thomas burrowed his face into his older brother’s neck and felt the joy of returning home.

Minutes passed, and while neither wished to move, the need for answers overpowered Techno. “Where were you? Could I have found you sooner?”  _ Could I have done something to stop it? _

Prince Thomas was quiet in his replies, mellower than when he had been a child, but not all too different. “I went up. You couldn’t have found me, Techno, and I didn’t really want you too.”

Shock passed through the General’s veins. Up?  _ The Overworld?  _ But the humans were violent creatures! One’s who hunted the mobs that Prince Thomas ruled over, the mobs that Prince Thomas was a part of. It was no secret to anyone that the rarity of Ghasts was mainly due to humanity’s greed. 

“My Prince, I need you to answer this question truthfully, you understand? You have to tell me the truth now okay?  _ Did they hurt you _ ?” The General’s voice shook. Shook with worry and possible rage at the mere idea of Thomas being hunted. Of being tortured for tears with no allies in sight. 

“No  _ General _ .” Prince Thomas said with a twinkle in his eyes. So, he had noticed the change in uniform after all. “Not in the way you’d think anyway.” 

A sharp intake of breath. So maybe not torture, but definite hurt. Techno seethed, but now was not the time for anger or vengeance, now was the time for relief. His brother was back, and together they could tame and traverse any hardships that fate threw at them. He put the thoughts and questions away for another time. He smiled down, “We can talk about this another day, but for now, it’d be this lowly general’s greatest honor to give his prince a tour.”

Soft giggles erupted from his younger brother’s mouth, reminding Techno that he was still only sixteen. “Why of course General Technoblade, although I’d hardly call you lowly, Commander of the Nether Army.”

\--

Wilbur was running like he never had before. He had kept the compass that was tracked on to Tommy’s lifeline, and was trying to get to his little brother as quickly as possible. He couldn’t tell if he was being followed anymore, his exhaustion blurring his sight until all that remained was the damned compass and the few steps ahead of him. His lungs heaved and his breath was short, steps heaving on the ever-changing terrain, only one thing on his mind.  _ He had to get to Tommy.  _ Who knew what the boy was suffering from at the moment. He could be being attacked by mobs, captured, starving, the possibilities were endless and each one that Wilbur thought up made him sicker and sicker. 

After hours that had stretched into days, Wilbur finally came upon a Nether Portal. This is what the compass had led him to, and so Tommy must have gone through. Terror, sharp and poignant, shot through the haggard man, and his worry spiked. The Nether was not kind to humans, and Tommy had never liked to traverse it. Every time he made excuses, (“ _ No, I have plans with-”” No, I need to- ““No, I don’t feel like it- “)  _ and Wilbur could honestly count on one hand the times he had seen Tommy go to that world on his own free will. 

But Wilbur had no choice, he had no time to fret over Tommy’s inexperience in the Nether, he had to find him, and so he stepped through. Unbeknownst to him were the group of hunters that were right on his trail. They had assumed that at some point the duo would have to reconnect, and were simply waiting to take them both out. With shark-like smiles, they too entered the Nether Portal. 

When the shimmering purple particles dissipated, both the hunters and the hunted looked around. The area surrounding them was unfamiliar and treacherous. The humans had never attempted to traverse the Nether very far from their own home portals, and this new area only further revealed to them their inexpertise. For some, this was a joy, and for others, this was torment.

Wilbur had not made it very far from the portal in the first place, and was overwhelmed when his hunters attacked. Running, he tried to get afs far away as he could, climbing warped trees and hiding behind rock formations, but there were simply too many hunters. The hunters had no qualms about destroying the terrain around them, setting off tnt and throwing potions of harming, anything they could to kill Wilbur. 

Unknowingly, they alerted the Capital below them, and the general rushed to the commotion. His only intention was to protect the city, and he had no idea what the humans were planning on. Jumping into the clearing between the hunters and the hunted all fighting stopped. The piglin hybrid was menacing, with a numb demeanor that gave the idea that this person would not hesitate to kill everyone in the clearing. The rest of the squadron encircled the humans, creeping forward menacingly, aiming to intimidate. 

The humans had no chances to explain themselves, and were all arrested. Chained and dragged into a single file line, they were marched through the Capital as criminals, enemies of the state. Brought forth into the antechamber of the throne room, all of them kept quiet. As the massive doors opened, the feeling of something important happening teetered over the edge. 

They're sitting on the throne was a large stretch of carpet, was a boy. A boy with white hair, white clothes, a white crown, and as they walked closer, eyes of rubies and dynamite. A boy they had all once known with different coloring, a different mien, and a different status. A boy who had once been a second in command, a little brother, a friend.

“These are the humans, my prince.” A  _ prince _ . Not even a human one. 

“General, split them up, take them to separate rooms, and don’t allow them to speak to each other. Leave one, and we’ll see what to make of this mess.” Tommy ( _ was this still Tommy- _ ) had a colder voice, didn’t slouch, and had no stains on his gleaming white clothes. He was adorned with jewels and metals and a cape that made him so different from the boy they had known. 

Wilbur was selected as the first to be interrogated, and he was terrified. 

Where did the boy he practically raised go?


End file.
